9mm 115g Berry's plated bullets.....

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gilly6993

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what do you think a good load is?....Using Titegroup and was going to go with 4.3g....
 
I tried 3 or 4 different powders with that bullet out of a Ruger SR9c and found that bullseye worked best for me.

4.3gr should be a safe start load as the min, my LEE manual says 4.5 is starting load for a 115gr jacketed bullet
 
I tried 3 or 4 different powders with that bullet out of a Ruger SR9c and found that bullseye worked best for me.

4.3gr should be a safe start load as the min, my LEE manual says 4.5 is starting load for a 115gr jacketed bullet
Click to expand...

I like Bullseye as well but the Titegroup seems to be a much cleaner powder....I read on their site that they lie between cast and jacketed bullets....their recomendation is low to mid jacketed data so I felt 4.3-4.5 would be a good load....
 
Just pulled a box off of my shelf. 4.3 gr titegroup under a 115g Berry's, CCI spp & OAL of 1.120- that's my load!
 
My favorite recipe for 115g. Berry plated bullets is 4.2g. Bullseye with an OAL of 1.135. I have literally made thousands of these for my Beretta M9 and Beretta Storm. They eat 'em like candy!:)
 
Berry plated bullets is 4.2g. Bullseye with an OAL of 1.135.
Click to expand...

Oddly enough this is my EXACT load for my Springfield XD 4'', with excellent results as well. I can't seem to find my log right now but I'm fairly sure I was getting somewhere around 1070 fps out of it.
 
Low to mid-range jacketed data should be safe like Berry's site says. If your gun runs smoothly, it's accurate for your needs and extracts and ejects well; you're good-to-go.

A chrono is the best way to check your loads "before" you load up hundreds of rounds. If you don't have access to one, be sure you really test your new load at various ranges for gun operation and accuracy, before you load up a bunch.

Sounds like your pretty close.
 
With Berry's 115gr. 9mm plated using Competition Electronics ProChrono Digital Chronograph:

3.7 TiteGroup chronos at 950 fps (30 round average) and cycles both my M&P 9L and 9c. Great powder puff load for the wife and very accurate out of both.

3.5 TiteGroup ran 910 fps, still cycled both slides (3 1/2" barrel and 5" barrel) but wasn't as accurate.

My guess is 4.2 would run the same speed as Win. white box (1050 fps).

No excessive fouling of barrel or casings. I like TiteGroup and Clays for clean burning budget loading and use one or the other for 9mm, .38SPL, .357Mag., 40cal. and .45ACP.

As an aside, the cleanest range brass I ever picked was Federal (not sure which but it came in a red/black box). 300 rounds and every one looked unfired inside. (I watched the guy shoot it then nabbed it just as he was ready to toss it).
 
Skylerbone- thanks for emphasizing accuracy too. Chronos are very helpful to the reloader, but I care about my group sizes a lot. Different guns, different loads. Fun to find the right match, though.

Chuck
 
Trouble w/ reloading for Glock 17 & 34 w/ berry's

I was just reading this thread and saw you guys are using the Berry's bullets for reloading 9mm which is what I am using but am having trouble. I am using IMR Hi-Skor 700-X powder (3.9grains) w/ 124 grain Berry's plated bullets and have had MANY malfunctions out of my 34 and some out of my 17. Should I use a different powder or more powder? I noticed that when I am shooting these reloads the shells do not even fly off the bench that I am shooting off of which is odd and tells me I need more powder. Help please! I have used factory ammo in my 17 and never had a malfunction until I used my reloads.
 
Johnny Lightning, I would stop using those loads immediately. Hodgdon's published data calls for no more than 3.4gr of 700-X at 31,600 PSI. (based on a 125gr. lead conical nose, Berry's will mimic lead bullet load data).

700-X was designed as a rifle powder (IMR= Improved Military Rifle) and works best for rifle applications. I would suggest you consider TiteGroup or HP-38/Win 231 as a replacement. These powders can reload 9mm, .38/.357, 40cal and .45ACP among others. Those and Clays (shotgun powder) are what I stick to for pistol.

I would suggest cleaning with a good copper solvent AND lead remover paying special attention to the lead area of the chamber followed by careful inspection for any build up that may have occured. Remember, these are plated not jacketed. Pro Shot (and others) make caliber specific chamber brushes that can help with cleaning other wise choose the next larger size (I'd suggest stepping up to 10mm/.400).

Best of luck and bookmark this site: http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp for Hodgdon (Hodgdon/IMR/Winchester) data. All powder companies publish on line and while their charts are far from complete offer good information to suppliment your loading manuals.
 
Not good

Thanks skylerbone for the info...I already brushed and whipped out the barrels of both handguns. I am using the info out of the Speer reloading manual #14 and they have the 700-X as one of the powders that is acceptable for 9mm handgun loads? I will take your advice and buy some titegroup which is in the speer manual I am using. Since I am using plated and not jacketed bullets can I even follow the speer manual since for 115grn. and 124grn. they do not list info on plated bullets? Also should I discard the cases that I collected after shooting the hot loads.
 
Just the usual inspection for pressure signs and damage. IMR can be used, it's just not ideal. 231 is the gold standard among .45ACP loaders and HP 38 is very close in load data, maybe .2gr less by some accounts. Clays shoots very clean but doesn't meter as well as TiteGroup.

As for plated bullets, think of cheap jewelry. A whisper thin coating over the lead that keeps lead out of the barrel. It works well but needs lower pressures to prevent damaging the bullet.
 
I could only get my hands on HP-38 on short notice, so here is what I came up w/...Berry's 115 bullet, 4.3grns HP-38, at a C.O.L. 0f 1.10 w/ light crimp...Let me know if this sounds good...I followed the info on the hodgdon sight you gave me using the LRN bullet info. Thanks for all the help!
 
1.10" might be a tad short.
Since you didn't say which Berry 115 you are using, that's all I know.

The lead bullet Hodgdon listed seats short in order to keep the front driving band out of the rifling leade.

I think posts #4, 5, 6, 7 and 11 all gave you good OAL info.

I'm seating the 115 Berry RN at 1.143".
The Berry 115 TC-HP needs to be seated deeper to keep the shoulder out of the rifling.
I seat them to 1.040".

Longer generally feeds smoother then shorter in almost any gun, as long as the bullet doesn't hit the rifling leade before it can fully chamber.

rc
 
700-X was designed as a rifle powder (IMR= Improved Military Rifle) and works best for rifle applications.
Click to expand...

700X is a fast pistol powder, not a rifle powder.

4.5 grs of 700X with a Hornady 115 RN gave me 1081 FPS from a 3" EMP, 1137 FPS from a 4 1/2" TZ, and 1275 FPS from a 16" AR. (Start low and work up)

When substituting the Ranier 115 Gr RN bullets for that Hornady bullet in some other similar apps my velocities were almost exactly the same.

You do not have to limit yourself to lead data with plated bullets.

Some plated bullet data
 
+1
IMR does stand for Improved Military Rifle powder.

But it is also the name of the company that makes Hi-Score 700-X shotgun/pistol powder.

rc
 
W231 is the gold standard among .45ACP loaders and HP 38 is very close in load data, maybe .2gr less by some accounts.
Click to expand...
Older reloading manuals and load data will show slight difference between W231 and HP38 but it is currently the same exact powder and Hodgdon website's (Hodgdon is licensed to sell Winchester powders) load data for W231/HP38 is showing the same load data.

As for plated bullets, think of cheap jewelry. A whisper thin coating over the lead that keeps lead out of the barrel. It works well but needs lower pressures to prevent damaging the bullet.
Click to expand...
Again, that used to be the case for "some" thinly plated bullets of the years past, but most commercial plated bullet manufacturers have increased the quality of the plating so you won't have the plating separating from the lead alloy core issue anymore, even at higher jacketed load data. For me, I check the diameter of the plated bullets to see if they are same as jacketed bullet diameter. Rainier tends to be the same diameter as jacketed bullets as Berry's and PowerBond tends to be halfway between lead and jacketed bullet diameter. I usually use lead load data because of the bullet diameter size, but have pushed all of three mentioned plated bullets to jacketed load data without plating failing.
 
My only response is that some people walk a tightrope and never fall off. I lack the requisite pressure testing equipment to play with so I choose what is safe and what works. For me that means relying on published data, a chronograph and my target when choosing a load.

I cannot guess as to composition on every bullet, every manufacturer has proprietary alloys for both plating and lead. Just for fun I contacted Berry's Manufacturing and asked how thick their plating is. I was told .003"-.004" (3-4 thousandths) and to never exceed 1200 fps.

1 (800) 269-7373
 
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I've used that bullet with 4.2 grns of TG. They cycled great & the chrony showed them right where they should be. It may of been 1087fps ave. I think.
 
Berry's are plated bullets. You really have to go half way between the FMJ and lead load for your powder charges. The FMJ will be too much.
 
For my Beretta 92FS:

Bullet: Berry's Plated 115gr RN
Powder: Bullseye 4.4gr
OAL: 1.140-1.145

FPS using a Chrony:
1206
1149
1210
1171
1141
1164
1131
1161
1166
1144
Avg = 1164.3
Std Dev = 26.21301627
 
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